Wheelchair, bed, and wheeled base transfer technology has made great advances over the last two decades. The ability for the disabled to adapt to their physical issues regarding mobility is continually improving. However, mobility in the area of lateral transfer of a disabled patient from a wheelchair to a fixed structure and vice versa is an area where progress is slow and extremely challenging. The major challenges confronting progress in the development of lateral transfer devices include: 1. Patient safety 2. Simplicity of mechanical operation 3. Adapting inventive device to a powered motorized wheelchair without limiting mobility and angular carriage positioning and 4. Eliminating lifting of the patient by the care provider.
The ultimate challenge to securing patient safety during the lateral transfer process is maintaining horizontal stability of the wheelchair. Maintaining horizontal stability means that the transfer carriage will remain level (non-tipping) and will not rotate in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction (resulting from tipping) during the transfer process. Tipping occurs when a wheel or wheels on the opposite side of the transfer device begin(s) to move vertically as weight transfers to the opposite side of the wheelchair.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,544,866 is an example of a transfer device that places a patient's safety at risk due to potential tipping of the carriage during patient transfer. The patented device of the '866 patent uses a transport carriage comprised of tracks with wheels that travel along the track allowing the carriage to move laterally over the fixed structure. However, the device depends on the mattress to account for horizontal stability. The weight of the patient and carriage structure may depress a soft mattress two or three inches allowing for a potential dangerous weight transfer and tipping of the device during patient transfer. The '866 patent also has exposed wheels and tracks under the carriage seat that could potentially entangle with sheets creating an unsafe transfer operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,633 is another example of a lateral transfer device that is devoid of any device that would prevent tipping during patient transfer. The '633 also has a limited distance of carriage transfer capability (0-8 inches), therefore creating an unsafe transfer between the transfer devise and various stretcher beds and gurneys where mattresses are inset within the structures and offset from the frame works of the structures.
The complexity of the operation of lateral transfer devises trigger concerns regarding the time involved in the overall transfer process and the building of additional framing structures to the wheeled base frame and bed. U.S. Pat. No. 7,752,687 B1 describes a transfer device requiring the inflating of air bags on a bed, extending a frame attached to the wheeled base frame through the channels of the air bags, building a stretcher on the extended framing, and attaching a transfer sheet to the stretcher. The device of the '687 patent is not only time consuming in operation but the patient becomes totally dependent on care providers for the entire transport process.
Another major challenge impeding the progress of the patient lateral transfer process is the need for a transfer device and that can be mounted onto a wheeled base structure without intruding on the mobility and angular positioning abilities of the travel carriage. Some conventional transfer chairs typically fail to offer the disabled person the mobile independency they need for ever day life.
Finally, the challenge is to provide the patient care provider with a lateral transfer device that eliminates the need to lift the patient, pull the patient on a slide board, or load the patient into a sling or harness. Liability issues relating to injuries occurring via patient lifting have become a major concern in the health care industry. Also, care providers are often the patient's spouse, an elderly relative or person, or individuals that are physically incapable of moving the disabled person without additional help. Therefore, enhancing the need for a lateral transfer device that is safe, simple in operation, and adaptive to a powered wheeled structure without limiting the mobile structure's movement capabilities is essential.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,690,178 describes transfer of a patient from a wheelchair to a bed and vice versa. The foregoing device uses a complicated docking system between a hospital bed and wheeled base structure. The foregoing transfer system offers a unique and credible way for a disabled patient to maneuver from a bed to a wheeled base structure. However, the invention limits a patient's ability to transfer to various hospitals, homes, or hotel style beds that don't offer the specific docking system needed by the transfer device.
In view of the foregoing, one embodiment of the disclosure provides a stabilizer system for a patient transfer device for transferring a patient between a fixed structure and a mobile vehicle or between two mobile vehicles. The stabilizer system includes a portable platform having two opposing sloped ramps on a first side and a second side thereof. A bracket is fixedly attached to the platform adjacent a first end thereof between the sloped ramps. The bracket has opposed shoulders, an entrance side and an exit side opposite the entrance side, wherein the bracket is adapted for receiving a slide plate appendage attached to a wheeled transfer vehicle when the wheeled transfer vehicle is positioned on the platform between the sloped ramps and between the first end and a second end of the ramp. The second end of the ramp has a length sufficient to prevent tipping of the platform during a patient transfer maneuver between the wheeled transfer vehicle and a fixed structure or mobile vehicle.
Another embodiment of the disclosure provides a lateral transfer system for transferring a patient between a fixed structure and a mobile vehicle or between two mobile vehicles. The system includes a patient transfer device having a frame fixed to wheels and a carriage platform movably attached to the frame. The carriage platform has one or more extendable carriage platform sections for lateral movement of the carriage platform relative to the frame and wheels for transferring a patient between the patient transfer device and a fixed structure or a wheeled vehicle. A stabilizer system for the patient transfer device is also provided by the transfer system. The stabilizer system includes a portable platform having two opposing sloped ramps on a first side and a second side thereof. A bracket is fixedly attached to the platform adjacent a first end thereof between the sloped ramps. The bracket has opposed shoulders, an entrance side and an exit side opposite the entrance side. The bracket is adapted for receiving a slide plate appendage attached to the frame of the patient transfer device when the patient transfer device is positioned on the platform between the sloped ramps and between the first end and a second end of the ramp. The second end of the ramp has a length sufficient to prevent tipping of the platform during a patient transfer maneuver.
A further embodiment of the disclosure provides a process for transferring a patient between a fixed structure and a mobile vehicle or between two mobile vehicles. The process includes providing a patient transfer device having a frame fixed to wheels and a carriage platform movably attached to the frame. The carriage platform has one or more extendable carriage platform sections for lateral movement of the carriage platform relative to the frame and wheels for transferring a patient between the patient transfer device and a fixed structure or a wheeled vehicle. A stabilizer system is provided for the patient transfer device. The stabilizer system includes a portable platform having two opposing sloped ramps on a first side and a second side thereof. A bracket is fixedly attached to the platform adjacent a first end thereof between the sloped ramps. The bracket has opposed shoulders, an entrance side and an exit side opposite the entrance side. The bracket is adapted for receiving a slide plate appendage attached to the frame of the patient transfer device. The second end of the ramp has a length sufficient to prevent tipping of the platform during a patient transfer maneuver. During use, the patient transfer device is positioned on the platform between the sloped ramps and between the first end and a second end of the ramp so that the slide plate is engaged with the bracket. The carriage platform is then laterally moved to move the patient from the patient transfer device to a fixed structure or a mobile vehicle.
Accordingly, the aforementioned challenges have all been addressed by embodiments of the disclosure. The unique design of the transfer carriage may improve safety and add to the ease of transitioning a patient on and off of the carriage. The transfer carriage is designed to shield the mechanical operations system so as to avoid bed sheets or medical devices becoming entangled in the mechanical system during the transfer process.